For obvious reasons, religion has never been a major subject of MLP. There are hints of it being there, though. Mr. Waddle is wearing a clerical collar while giving a eulogy or sermon in Hearts and Hooves Day, Celestia’s name is invoked just like God’s throughout the series, one pony is seen dressed as the devil in Luna Eclipsed and dialogue suggests ponies have a concept of heaven and sin. Thoughts?

Alicorns are clearly seen as divine. I don't know if religion is really structured though and its probably mostly unofficial for ponies

I treat Harmony as the higher power of most ponies. It may or may not be a conscious big-G god depending on the story or who you ask, or it might just be a cosmic force of magical friendship. The religion was established by Celesti and Luna, and the alicorns are (conveniently) Harmony's earthly representatives. It features virtue ethics (obviously), an emphasis on the importance of camaraderie and community, and a belief in individual destiny. Aside from ceremonies like Hearth's Warming and the Summer Sun celebration, there are no formal religious observances.

I've also invented the 'old ways', a pantheistic nature religion practiced by a mostly earth pony minority. Before the diarchy, it was the main religion in Equestri. It's main values are asceticism, solitude, and oneness with nature. Actively practiced by the Pie sisters and Fluttershy. Other earth ponies, like the Apple Family, practice Harmonism, but also retain some Old Ways practices, mainly to do with crop blessing.

Not based on a ton of show evidence; I mostly made it all up thx.

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Yeah, I use either Harmony, or them swearing on The Maker, with other deities for the other races

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Rainbow Dash mentions that her "prayers have been answered" during the pets episode, indicating that prayer exists in Equestria, or at least among pegasi. No indication of who is being prayed to, as far as I know (I don't remember the exact quote).

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Tartarus is a very little physical place. Given that along with Cerberus both originate from Greek mythology I'd start there.

The evidence for pony atheism is much stronger than any sort of theism. The 'passion play' we see of Hearthswarming (a celebration we're clearly intended to parse as directly equivalent to OTL Christmas) is all about the 'Fires of Friendship', and couched more in political/social terms than anything explicitly devout. You can say that the play put on for our eyes is a piece of state-idolatry agitprop, but it's clear that they want the population to think about Harmony and Equestria as tightly intertwined from the very Founding of the nation, whatever the actual historical facts. And as such, it's divorced from the alicorn princesses, and preceeds the rule of the Sisters. First was Harmony, and then the rulers. That's probably pretty important.

So, a sort of nontheistic state cult? Maybe. But a lot of the pilot episodes seem to be about rediscovery and re-dedication, rather that reiteration. If there is a Church of Harmony, we don't see many ritual or organizational signs of it, unless all of those seasonal festivals are tied explicitly to said inferred Church somehow. We certainly never see any signs of this, or even a proper temple, house of worship, or other institutional edifice in all the episodes I can think of.

There are the occasional statue or artwork (largely in Cloudsdale and the Weather Factory) which could be cult objects, but unless you count all of those glass windows in Canterlot Palace as something religious, and not political objects tied to the self-celebration of the princesses' regime, then again, few physical or visual demonstrations of our hypothetical Church of Harmony.

Now, I mostly write AU, but I have difficulty visualizing societies so aggressively secular, so I cheat a bit on this front, but even there, I generally go with a more Daoist Cult of Harmony, which holds its predicates independently of the political-social regime. And as such, it's more of a folk sort of pony Daoism.

That is, when Celestia isn't deliberately suppressing alicorn-worshiping cults and purging their adherents from the bureaucracy. Because I am easily amused, and find 'aggressively atheistic Celestia' to be a ripe source of giggles.

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In my headcanon modern Equestrian society is big on worshipping Celestia as Goddess, though in later years some ponies started accepting that Luna is Celestia's sister and should be worshipped too. But mostly they worship Celestia. There is several wierd cults dedicated to Celestia but only two main variants of religion aren't banned in Equestria.

Solar Cult, which is pretty harmonious and also pretty recent. It started as little sect five hundred years before series start, and due to luck and meddling from Cults of Discord managed spread like wildfire across Equestria and outside its borders. Cult teaches that Celestia is benevolent Goddess, who wishes only best for every creature that accepts her. Cult spreads ideals of friendship and harmony, teaching everyone that you need to be honest, kind, generous and loyal to your friends. Conveniently, Solar Cult mostly ignores that Luna everexisted. Also, since both Celestia and Luna are demigods in my headcanon, Solar Cult influenced Celestia into becoming benevolent ruler Equestria has in the present.
Sol Invicta Cult is older, and anything but harmonious. When Celestia (Sol Invicta in these long forgoten times) was younger, she was way more agressive and warlike. She also was really magnifficent, making atheistic poinies believe that she is Living Goddess, descended from heavens to save them all. So this Cult depicts her as absolutely merciless warrior Goddess, who broken hold of Chaos over Equestria, destroyed monsters born from aid Chaos and brought order and prosperity to the land and ponies. Cult teaches the value of strength to stand up to monstrosities born from the Chaos, bravery needed to take that stand, sacrifices that are necessary to make a better future possible and hope that you bring to those who lack these qualities, inspiring them to be better and rise above their lot in life, allways striving for perfection. Some branches of cult ignore that Luna ever existed, some picture her as malevolent Goddess, who saw peace and prosperity that her sister created, and tried to destroy the Order, trowing the world into Chaos once more, and leading ponies astray.

For ponies who worship Luna... there is Cult of the Night Mother. Mostly it is thestral cult, which deifies Luna and Luna alone, as benevolent goddess and creator of thestrals. This Cult is outlawed in Equestria, because over centuries it devolved into Nightmare Moon cult and mostly practiced by batponies. Still, since majority of thestrals worship Unconquered Sun (and view Luna as source of everything wrong with the world and ultimate enslaver who forced them fight for her in Nightmare Rebellion, instead of supporting Celestia) being open worshipper can summon lynch mobs pretty quickly. Cult of the Night Mother is also banned in Equestria, and majority of the world.

Cult of the Two Sisters is pretty recent. It showed up when Luna returned. In essence it is offshot Solar Cult, but with two Goddesses instead of one.

Cult of Discord, not really that widespread, butcertainly destructive, also exists in Equestria. It is also banned, and membership in the cult can and will earn you death penalty if you are older than 18 and total erasure of your memories if you are younger. It is pretty destructive society, that wants to unmake Equestrian order, returning Era of Discord, full of chaos and strife. There are hundreds of different offshots of the Cult, and only thing that unites them is that they can, trough rituals and belief, tap into Discord's strength to perform miracles.

Order of Boreas is grifonian religion, but there are some pegasi, unicorns and a lot of equestrian griffins who practice it in the secret. They practice it in the secret because it is pretty tribalistic (one of the messages it brings is that all earth ponies should be enslaved) and is outlaved in Equestria. In other aspects it is pretty similar to Sol Invicta Cult (and started as one of its offshots, before merging with grifonian version of the religion).

Old Ways, relatively widespread cult, practiced mostly by earth ponies, is, in truth, not a religion but a philosophy which was attached to druidistic school of magic practiced by pre-equestrian earth ponies. Mostly it teaches ponies to value nature and coexist with it. Though some of the practices of the Old Ways are drudic rituals, which could lead to a number of intersting things, like give someone ability to speak with animals.

7410417 There's not much credible evidence of organised religion in MLP.

Spirituality is more viable, and let's be real, spirituality was always religion's more respectable, less autistic older sibling anyway.

The way some ponies talk about harmony and friendship borders on the spiritual, and whilst there doesn't seem to be much in the way of an organised church (outside of the occasional visual references the show uses to set stages). I think it's in this context that the likes of Celestia and later Twilight should be interpreted; as sort of spiritual examples, who are very in-tune with the 'spirit of Harmony'. Other quite spiritual things crop up now and then as well; the ponies relationship with their cutie-marks is an example, and to a larger extent, magic in general.

They follow ideas such as being true to oneself, unity, harmony (which has the added benefit of having an actual magic associated with it, apparently) and destiny. Not much in the way of gods, at least not in the context that they're worshipped. Maybe some do worship the likes of Celestia, but again, this hardly seems organised enough to call it a religion. I can start worshipping the mighty ChadHazred the Ultragod of Magnificence, but chances are it won't count as a proper religion (even though it should).

Churches, organised worship? I'll believe it when I see it, and I haven't seen it, so I don't believe it.

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I think religion covers several bases which might be seperated in pony society.

• Understanding the world, cosmology and history. No doubt there were all kinds of myths and legends about this at some point, some of which persist to this day. Of course, given that Equestria is a world that resembles our own myths given life, one might guess that their tales are more commonly accurate - but that isn't necessarily the case. (Of course, if even their modern "fiction" isn't...) In any case, as with in our world, much of this purpose was overtaken by the more scientific study paradigm that Twilight is a product of.
• Providing moral and ethical guidance, as well as social norms. Philosophers have served as a (sometimes) secular alternative to this throughout history, and I expect in Equestria philosophies serve as the major counterparts to religions, but more informally. In a bit of a "Starswirlism", I consider the most prevalent one to be a Harmony-based one promulgated by the Princesses as the basis for their new nation, with Twilight's more recent "Friendship Gospel" being somewhere between a branch and a child. Another might regulate the ponies' complicated relationship with the natural world.
• Serving as a source for customs and holidays. Well, the ponies seem to do well enough at this one on their own... some local, other's more widespread.
• Addressing matters of death and the afterlife. This one is obviously touched on the least in the show, although the aforementioned Hearts and Hooves day scene likely comes closest. Certainly, pony beliefs on the afterlife would have a strong effect on the immortality debates which circulate on this site from time to time... Unlike some stories on this site, I do think (or perhaps just prefer) that ponies have no more absolute knowledge on the matter than we do - or arguably even less, since their world contains many more strange things than ours.

Can anyone think of an aspect I missed?

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Alicorn worship I have as an old fashion that predates the Princesses (and gave them a lot of their initial "cred") but took a major hit in Equestria after the whole Nightmare Moon business, which warring Church factions had not insignificant roles in. Since then...well, it's a bit hard to outright worship somepony who's been quite vocal about not wanting it, but despite that Celestianism lives on as an undercurrent that both fuels and is fuelled by the Princess's vast general popularity. (Luna worship was always rarer and more scattered, and quite a few of the remnants sadly declined to Nightmare cults, but there were still suprisingly a few remaining to witness their goddess's return.)

And it's something of a different matter abroad, where worship is tolerated by Celestia (who knows the fear that the heavens are moved by a power beyond one's reach and understanding well) but often persecuted to a greater of lesser extent by local leaders displeased at the lionising of another country's monarch over them. (An incident related to this actually sparked Equestria's last foreign war...)

I have always taken it as they have loose spiritual views that aren't really canonized in their culture. Some minor belief in the divinity of the princesses, but no religious texts or organized religion to speak of. If your gods are out walking among the people you don't really need priests or religious texts to talk about the will of the gods, just ask the gods.

Considering that religion generally leads to unwanted drama, it’s probably wise to not invoke it in Equestria.

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We've seen that cults and cult-like behavior, while a bit easy to trust due to the ponies inherent trust, is actually quite hard to stick or be tolerated, mostly due to the ponies equally inherent tendencies to appreciate their own talents and uniqueness. Same with money making schemes. Combine that, and you can see why organized religion can't work on in Equestria*.

* shots fired

The difficulty with worship in Equestria, and the world at large, is that many of the trappings assumed by Earth's systems can be directly shown to be mundane and NOT due to the actions of Gods. Was that a miracle? Or was it just a case of emotionally super-charged run-of-the-mill magic? Harmony songs, and the Harmony Tree, imply a Group Gestalt at work, and not the actions of an individual.

On Earth, the Sun and Moon were worshiped as Gods because they appeared all-powerful. In Equestria, you have two mares who can throw those two objects around like toys -- are they not MORE powerful than the sun and moon? And many of the tragedies of ancient time were weather-related -- floods, famines, vicious storms. All of which could be controlled by pegasi -- are they all gods, then? On Earth, a being who could control the weather would certainly have been a god in ancient times. In Equestria, though, certainly not.

Perhaps the concept of a form of Buddhism might surface, as could Daoism, or Confucianism, but worship of a specific diety? Probably not.

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Most monotheisms and pantheisms don't really rely on true personifications; this is where saints and demigods and the rest crop up, for those who can't interact with the ineffable or the divine without a face or a personality to interact with. And the human need for identification is strong and something more primal than the religious impulse. Even Daoism and Confucianism have petty gods and ancestor-worship and all the rest of it, sitting folk-religious beside all the high-minded intellectual aspirations of the lettered and arrogant.

Would that sort of thing crop up in a high-magic environment where miracle is common and the day to day is awash in magic and wonder? I think the miracle of heartsong and the seasonal festivals are more likely to pull out a sort of Shinto dual-level pantheism, with petty kami in every object, and a greater spiritual gestalt above it. In a certain way, the earth-pony identification with the soil and the land provides you with that petty kami aspect - you see Applejack doing the pony version of anthropomorphizing her trees, and Fluttershy and her interaction with her animals.

Not to mention the strange story of the Windigo, who could be a sort of wind elemental, and the threatening spectre of the timberwolves, a sort of wild wood golem.

Yes, that would make sense. Very much an animism where everything has a soul/intelligence, even if you can't figure it out.

Plus it would be divided along tribal lines -- the things that the winged ponies pay attention to are not the same as the ones the unicorns do.

My personal joke is that friendship is a religion that must be followed by everyone in Equestria on some level and if you truly don't believe in it you just die like every villain in the series lol.

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If you start with the point mentioned here 7410419 where you have tangible divine entities, then the concept is very different from what we have. It would mean that there is in fact an unambiguous, objective religion with a direct path to communicating with the gods. This would immediately rid the world of a lot of concepts that we have in our world, with things like heresy either being non-existent or becoming inseparable from politically charged sentiment (ie. it could be equal to threatening the rulers). While theocratic governments are generally seen as unethical here, this would mean ponies (and other creatures) might see it as a good thing. Many religious aspects of their society would be normal, everyday things that we wouldn't likely consider religious due to there being confirmed, unambiguous existence of gods. This has a wealth of potential that many storytellers (not exclusive to pony) would overlook.

I would look into some basic theology to get started on building a religious reality, if that's what you want for your story. For example: who are the gods? Is it Celestia and Luna? Are Twilight and Cadance included? Would any of their lovers and spouses be considered divine or semi-divine too? How does one get divinity? Is Discord a god? Are there evil gods, amoral gods, or only good gods? What about the other rulers, like Novo and Skystar? The villains? Do they have a life after death? If so, what is it? Is there a separate realm or the good and evil, or more? Are the evil forgiven eventually, or tormented for all eternity? Are they pantheistic, polytheistic, monotheistic, or henotheistic? What are good worship practices? What are their vices and virtues favored by their religion, if any? Is destiny or free will what rules their universe, or perhaps a mix of both? Who is considered a religious authority? Do the gods have fixed domains? How powerful are the gods? Do their powers have limits, and what are they? Are they all-knowing or not? What variant of immortality do they have, if any? Can it be given up?

Those are good places to start your world-building at. I would suggest reading a fair share of history and mythology, that way you can put together a good fantasy culture while drawing from realism and the more out-there elements. For example, reading about Ancient Greece (as a common example) would tell you how religion was important to them and reflected in their culture, and give a sense of where it was reflected in everyday life. But reading the myths would add, well, the magic to it. Ponies live in a magic world. The magic is essential to consider, and give you examples of what you do and don't like from checking out the classics. Most folk religions have their myths in the public domain, so you can read a retelling or translation for free.

Most importantly, have fun! Don't be afraid to do something more out there (especially for fun domains and spheres of control).

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And any prior faiths have faded from disuse?

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But as storycrafters, why wouldn't we want drama?

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Or it has to evolve and change to fit the environment.

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Don't forget, Celestia would probably object to some of the things that happen in religions -- primarily over silly things, such as the what foods she might dislike, or her favorite color for examples. Religious Wars have been fought over less. Having ponies worship her might get tiring after a few centuries, so what do you do if your god tells you to stop that — that she doesn't want to be worshiped? We see in canon how much she appreciated Twilight's arrangements during a Ball when Discord went amuck -- she thought the change was exciting! And worship is all about non-exciting ceremonies that drag on for hours.

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Not to mention that if somepony doesn't believe in Celestia, they can just come down to Canterlot and request an audience, and she'll straighten 'em out.

--Sweetie Belle

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Drama born of religion tends to be the kind that's not fun to watch. And frustrating.

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I imagine that’s why concepts of worship would often look different. Instead of fighting a war, having a feast day to venerate something merrily would likely be important for ponies who want to show devotion. Even writing a card to her could technically be seen as a religious act, which might be something she enjoys.

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Weirdly enough, 'feasts' was a major concern in real world religions, particularly early Christianity vs. paganism. The first thing that non-Christian accounts of Christianity noted was their ritual communal meals, which sound a lot like family meals scaled up. Before it got developed into the sacrement of Communion, the story of the Last Supper seems to have been celebrated with... big dinners. And if you get into the weeds of some of the later books of the New Testament - especially the first chapter or two of Revelations - there's a ton of hyperventilating about the faithful of this city or that eating meat from the temple sacrifices. Who sat down at the table with whom was a serious breaking-point between members of families that only half-converted.

And all this from a new religion that had explicitly set out to discard all of those elaborate dietary restrictions of the parent religion.

I suppose Appleism would be very pie-centric. Although the Pies' traditions are alarmingly heavy on rock soup.

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Well, that's a matter of opinion. Especially when you can make the religion up as you wish.

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As someone already said, there is not so much reasons for equestrians to develop a cult. The so called clerical collar alone is not clerical unless there is a whatever-(pseudo)christian-confession church shown or strongly enough implied which is not the case. Princesses also don't seem to be worshipped by ponies (but they are worshipped by bronies who love to extrapolate).

Harmony also is not a religion because literally nopony knows about the Elements related stuff, they never mention it, never base an opinion on it, do not respect M6 for saving them all (not saying about them being the Elements' avatars). This is, like alicorn worship, fandom's religion in the first place. However the word "Harmony" is used quite frequently during the first two seasons, and there is surely some faith in actions of... Celestia. She was sure that magic in Twilight by itself is enough to succed in defeating Nightmare Moon. Twilight started learnig friendship after completing that quest (via the magic of friendship) and has been sent into Ponyville in the last moment, so there is either huge coincidence or divine providence that she would befriend with Mane 5 so fast, they will go with her into Everfree, successfully reach the castle and use the Elements. Also, this was the one and only possible Mane 6 since without them Equestria is doomed as we know from s5 finale. Twilight's cutie mark resembling the Elements also cannot have nothing to do with this, along with straightforward "friends are magically connected before they meet" lesson from the episode with its history. And at last, there is the Cutie Map which chooses missionaries, shows them location and nothing more, and this is enough to solve a friendship problem. Imagine Harmony becoming like Judaism with its God's chosen nation as example for others. Since, you now, the Tree of Harmony is pony-made.

As for more vague implications, there are Greek constellations and Norse week (actually copy-pasted from the real ones), which match anciet pegasi and earth pony "tribes'" images. Also, the Well of Shades ("the Shadow Play") looks like it is a temple with the so-called Darkness as its god, and there was also Stonehenge ripoff in the same episode, however it easily could be (and was) magical without any religious context.